When the English arrived in Tasmania in the early nineteenth century, stories justifying their anxiety about this new country flourished. This was not only an unfamiliar landscape but there was a carnivore lurking in the scrub.

Listen to the radio program here:

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The last Tasmanian Tigers in captivity.

Fear and loathing of the Tasmanian tiger escalated. Exaggeration and misinformation about the animal was perpetuated by both early scientists and settlers.

The thylacine didn’t have a chance – and the last one died in Hobart zoo in 1936.

In this program, we explore some of the myths that led to its extinction – and today’s sightings that maintain its symbolic presence.

It is not complete rubbish when, since 1936 not a single sighting has been confirmed or an individual found. While I doubt the individual at the Hobart Zoo was the last one alive (tracks were found in the wild after its death) I’m not sure however many “tigers” left alive was enough to support the population. That said, I would love for them to be re-discovered. I don’t find it likely but would encourage anyone interested to look for them.